I had recorded an early demo of this tune in the 1990s on a TEAC 4-track cassette recorder playing a Yamaha steel string and later added classical guitar parts. Sadly I lost that tape. So I’ve reconstructed it digitally with new arrangements using my Akai keyboard or scoring it directly into my DAW editor.

A lot of synth guitars and keyboards set to hip hop beats at 85 bpm. 

Hard rainfall audio recorded live in December 2023.

COVER: Splash photos via Pixabay and Aleksandr Slobodianyk at Pexels.com.

Crystal River Rain

In memoriam, the bombing of Guernica, Spain, April 26, 1937. A lamentation in music.

And in 2024, for the injured, displaced, and departed around the world as invading forces of tyranny rain down death and destruction upon innocent people.

I literally cried as I updated my old composition about the bombing of Guernica. 

Originally composed in GarageBand, I finished the first version of this song on April 26, 2013, not consciously aware that the date was the anniversary of the atrocity committed by fascists against civilians during the Spanish Civil War. I had had ambitions to create an animated short about its history and Picasso’s famous painting when I could afford the technology. So my first step was to use available resources and create the music, which I did 11 years ago. I have yet to produce the animation. Maybe someday. The cover art gives you an idea as to how I envisioned the graphics for the animated short.

This Guernica composition is my first attempt at composing neoclassical music. As a girl I would sing and hum made-up symphonies as I conducted an imaginary orchestra. I’ve got hundreds of improvised concertos, sonatas, fugues, and arias deep in my memory banks that sometimes creep into my contemporaneous music.

This week, as the anniversary of Guernica approached, I imported my old music file into my current DAW and refreshed it, adding French horn, the first instrument I played as a young student. I also added audio of propeller planes recorded live in March and April 2024. And I pushed the previous violin and cello parts to the limit, so if you hear a screeching violin or a groaning cello, it’s intentional; war gives millions of reasons to scream and wail. The composition’s 8-chord structure is repeated as if to state the obvious — we, humans, have yet to contain our violence individually and collectively. We witness and experience the horror of mass murder and war around the globe. Every. Damn. Day.

I realize my song probably isn’t going to be a favorite for listeners, not my usual chill music. But I’m also a firm believer in the idea that sunlight is the best disinfectant. With this music about Guernica and the history of 1937, I am reminded how far we’ve come, and yet, how little we’ve changed. But change we must, and I believe humanity will change for the better. The question is when.

Guernica

I hope to someday finish animation I started years ago of flamingos in the rain dancing to this song.

Synth harp, guitars, clarinet, cellos, and bass set to hit hop, conga, and bongo beats at a tango’s pace of 70 bpm. Rain audio recorded live in December 2023.

I wrote an extended version of this track more than a decade ago during a time I was experiencing intense physical pain. As I fled inwardly into creativity to escape, this music narrated the discovery of a quiet harbor from pain.

Later I became amused watching a wildlife documentary of flamingos and their mating dance. As they marched together in step, abruptly turning their heads and beaks known as head flagging to an unknown beat accentuating their synchronized rhythm, I imagined flamingos dancing the tango. Initially I had ambitions to create an animated short with Tango In The Rain as the soundtrack. With time constraints, I leaned more toward the immediacy of digital music-making than animation and discovered pain relief in the process. And as a fan of old movies, this tune evolved into my fantasy score for a different Singin' in the Rain type of musical of animated dancing flamingos.

I hope the music takes you to your own safe harbor, hopefully a place of grace, comfort, and peace. My best wishes to you.

Tango In The Rain

Inspired by a dear friend who deserved a long holiday.

Wrote a demo of this tune more than a year ago, but recently mastered the track after recording live improvised "sailing" audio -- water, wind, birds -- in February 2024. 

Hope you enjoy this 4-minute invitation to relax and daydream.

Synth guitars with echo and reverb, bass, harp, cellos, and "sailing" sounds with Latin and hip hop beats at a very chill 65 bpm.

Cover photography: 
Scenic background by Juliana Chyzhova at pexels.com
Seagulls by Engin Akyurt at pexels.com
Sailboat by Szelei Robert at pexels.com

Sailing Barcelona

Sometimes in the quiet of the night come those moments of clarity.

Nightfall

When you've got to burn the midnight oil while staying cool, calm, and alert, try a cuppa Midnight Coffee.

© 2023 SUNNYBECK

Synth, harp, acoustic guitar, piano, and basses set to hip hop beats using Studio Brush Kit & Lo-Fi Funk @ 70 bpm.

Midnight Coffee

Dedicated to Kate’s healing, may this hummingbird song assist a speedy recovery. 

At the end of the day, when crickets begin their chorus, a chattering of hummingbirds vie for a last taste of nectar before sleepytime.

A variation on 4-chord construction at 1 4 3 7 intervals, using Trip Hop and Pop beats with acoustic tracks of piano and steel guitar, electric bass, and electronic synth. Very relaxing @ 60 BPM for that meditative creative wavelength in the alpha-theta zone.

© 2023 SUNNYBECK

Hummingbird Twilight

A welcome song in celebration of the first day of Spring as if to say:

Hello to my dear old friend
I missed you waiting for winter to end
Now it is your time to begin
Yes, it is Springtime once again

Hope you enjoy! Blessings to all!

Synth pianos with echo, phaser, bass, acoustic guitar, and audio of a robin singing set to hip hop and Latin beats at a gentle 70 bpm.

Audio of robin singing recorded live in April 2023.

Bird Perched on Stand photo by Pixabay at pexels.com

Spring Arrival

Like a rainbow on a misty morning the promise of something good emerges – a blessing, an affirmative prayer, and a song of hope of better times for us all.

Synth guitars, pianos, keyboard, oboe, harp, and bird chirps set to Latin and hip hop beats @ 65 bpm. 

Bird chirps recorded live in April 2023.

Emergence

Set your worries down and let yourself relax into a meditation that all is well.

Synths, echo piano and guitar to hip hop and pop beats @ 85 bpm.

© 2023 SUNNYBECK

Infinite Shore

May the planet of love bestow a relaxing meditative state for you to rise.

Lots of synths - bass arp, pianos, reverb and acoustic guitars, orchestral basses, cello, and French horn set to hip hop and Latin beats at 75 bpm.

I played French horn as a child from age 10-18 in a public school concert band and later marching band. So I added a brief French horn passage with cello in a short classical treatment to herald the arrival of Venus and a nod to the Renaissance painting of the Goddess of Love.


COVER: Milky Way background by Hristo Fidanov at pexels.com. Image of “Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli via Wikipedia.

Venus Rising

Relax your brain, ease your mind, and go downstream for the download. Side effects may include feelings of peace, wellbeing, and happiness.

Guitars, pianos, electric basses, synths, and bird chirps, water sounds recorded live in 2023, all set to hip hop and pop beats at a very chill 55 bpm.

Downstream

How freeing to break through scheduled life to those moments when a dazzling sunset or a beautiful song with a beat arrives unexpectedly, tapping you on the shoulder to take a pleasure trip of heart and soul. To become wonderstruck if even for minutes can color an entire day or more.

Sometimes, when the quiet space between thoughts widens and the mind becomes speechless at the awesome beauty of the heavens, a touch of melancholy dances with the splendor, perhaps a fleeting regret for having not previously stood still long enough to experience the wonder of it all. So there’s an easing of something too tight — perhaps a dance shoe? — before the goosebumps, before the eureka minute, to trip the light fantastic.

Synth guitars, pianos, keyboard, clarinet, and bass — all set to hip hop beats at a wonderstruck 60 bpm.

© Copyright 2023 SUNNYBECK

Wonderstruck

Relax. Even a short trip down memory lane calls for a cool head, an objective fair-minded witness, so you don't get stuck in a deadend. Best thing about a visit, besides deciding to take it easy, is finding buried treasure in the bins at the curb. Like a poet's book whose sage words advised, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” A pleasant detour reveals lessons learned and a resolve to head back to the Highway because moments are still under construction.

Synth guitars, keyboards, pianos with reverb, and bass set to syncopated and hip hop beats at a leisurely 60 bpm. Audio of bird chirps recorded live New Year's Eve 2023.

Quote via the late, great Maya Angelou.

Memory Lane

As we go round and round on a spinning globe, let’s enjoy the ride. In my world, sometimes it's a slow dance. Or a tango.

Acoustic guitars, reverb pianos, keyboard, synths, and jazz bass set to hip hop beats at 65 bpm.

© 2023 SUNNYBECK

Merry-Go-Round

An attempt at a pop tune, but can crossover to other genres. The songwriter in me had this love ballad tucked away, and seemed time to finish the tune. I've got some lyrics too. Kind of sappy but that's okay.

The main guitar carries the melody. Slow, simple, and gentle.

Dedicated to whom I've given my deepest love. And to those who need some extra love to counter hate or fear they might face.

The feeling I had when I was writing the music was what I get from a King's "You've Got a Friend" and Richie's "Endless Love" (I wish the song could compare!). 

Guitar synth, keyboard, and harp set to shakers with a heartbeat kick for a relaxed 58 bpm.

© Copyright 2023 SUNNYBECK

LYRICS (Subject to change)
FIRST VERSE 
00:04—When 
00:07—you’re feeling blue    
00:11—The world can deal
00:15—You   a losing hand  
00:18 —Stacked against you
00:20—Know 
00:22—That you always
00:23—Can depend     
00:26—on me 
00:28—Because
00:30—you have got
00:32—a friend  


CHORUS 
00:36—You can 
00:37—count on me
00:44—To in-fin-i-ty
00:52—Call me 
00:53—when you can
01:01—Because 
01:02—I’m all in
01:09—Come and 
01:10—hold my hand
01:17—You have 
01:18—got a friend
01:25—Through the 
01:27—thick and thin
01:34—Because 
01:35—I’m all in

01:39—So you can anytime call me up for some love

SECOND VERSE
01:43—When
01:46—they say you’re not okay
01:51—The way you are  
01:54—They  
01:55—can not see far
01:57—Blind 
01:58—to a star
02:00—And
02:01—they can never 
02:03—understand 
02:06—rainbows	 
02:08—that shine  
02:09—yellow, blue				      
02:11—and rose		

SECOND CHORUS 
02:15—So you 
02:16—count on me
02:23—for e-ter-ni-ty
02:32—When you  
02:33—need  
02:35—a win
02:40—Know that  
02:41 —I’m all in
02:48—Come and 
02:49—take my hand
02:56—Beside 
02:57—you I stand
03:05—Where you 
03:06—are I’ve been
03:13—That’s why 
03:14—I’m all in

03:23—So you can anytime call me up for some love

THIRD VERSE FINALE
3:26—When 
3:29—you’re feeling sad and low
3:34—And when the days
3:38—grind on so 
3:39—slow-ly
3 :41—with no end 
3:43—Know
3:45—that you really 
3:46—can depend 
3:49—on me
3:51—again
3:53—and again 
3:54—You can count on 
3:55—me

Count On Me

To blossom or to be a blossom, whether verb or noun, involves timing. Here's to wishing that your time is now. So sit back and let yourself enfold.

Synths, synth guitar, piano, cello, bass, and keyboard set to gentle beats of shaker, conga, bongo, djembe, and tambourine with the occasioinal hi-hat and kick at a very chill 60 bpm.

Blossom

Happy Friday The 13th and all things Halloween.

Let’s dance our cares away at the Masquerade

There, at the stroke of midnight
Time, without asking, begins unmasking
the power of its nameless might
The clock is tick-tocking
When the raven comes knocking
Rapping thrice at the door
Nevermore
Nevermore
Nevermore.

Masquerade

Old trains, new trains come wailing down the track while old dogs howl at the moon and the trains. Something oddly comforting about such neighborhood sounds.

Audio of train and dogs recorded live 2023.

85 bpm

Old Howlers

Drift away from rumbling thunder and rain in the distance into the safety of your comfort zone accompanied by gentle piano, guitar, synths, and hip hop beats.

Rainfall audio recorded live 2023.

Thunderbolt Island

Something different for the holidays.

A lot of synths, keyboard, guitars, bass, bassoon, sleigh bells, shakers, tambourine in a mix of beats from hip hop to pop at 85 bpm. Migrating geese in flight recorded live October and November 2023.

So I had recorded geese calls to use in music. What developed was a surprise to me, Wild Geese music that came pouring out in one eight-hour period on the day before winter solstice. Don’t know if it’s good — just what happened when the geese took me on the journey with them, flying high to their good weather hideaways or on a trip home.

Wild Geese

Blessings to all in the coming New Year! And thank you for your comments, encouragement, and support! 

Las Vegas translates from Spanish to English as "the meadows." 

In a parallel world, Mystic Vegas translates to the meadow of spiritual pleasure where dreams manifest and everyone wins a jackpot. Transcendental show tunes? 24-hour levitating Boom Bap? Of course! In Mystic Vegas going all in on the eternal fireworks of soul play is a sure bet. And a guarantee for a Happy New Year.  So strut your stuff. Let's play, feast, and dance!

Synths, echo piano, sitar, and a variety of drum kits -- Latin, Indian & Middle Eastern with shakers, and an earthy hip hop beat helps ground the experience at 93 bpm.

Mystic Vegas

Smooth as glass on the surface but beneath the calm of still water runs a deep relentless current. Don’t be fooled by a still appearance on top when below the mighty power of a torrent moves unseen.

Synths, synth guitars and pianos with reverb, synth bass set to a 2-step thump beat with bongos, congas, repique, and snare cajon at 75 bpm.

Water audio recorded live in February 2024.

Still Water

I love making original music that soothes, inspires, and rejuvenates.

Downtempo, chilled Lo-fi music set to hip hop, pop, and jazz beats. Lover of Boom Bap.

My creative journey began as a visual artist, and now I'm concentrating my energy into creating music that can instantly impact minds and moods for the better. For enhanced alpha-theta brain wavelengths.

I’ve been called Rebecca of Sunnybrook like the children’s book because of my birth name but call me Beck like my friends do. I chose Sunnybeck to use as my nickname as I’m an eternal optimist and love the sun.

sunnybeckmusic @ gmail.com

SUNNYBECK

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